Haas to clarify Ocon and Bearman “rules of engagement” before 2025 F1 season

Haas group principal Ayao Komatsu will make clear “guidelines of engagement” for brand spanking new drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman to comply with within the 2025 Components 1 season.

The American squad has a historical past of flashpoints between team-mates – with former drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean colliding a number of instances in 2019, whereas Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin commonly tried to occupy the identical items of racetrack in 2021.

These incidents occurred on the watch of former group boss Guenther Steiner, with Komatsu chief race engineer till his elevation to group boss firstly of final season, when Haas ran Nico Hulkenberg alongside Magnussen for the second yr in succession.

That duo solely had one actually contentious second through the 2024 marketing campaign – when Hulkenberg was unexpectedly undercut by Magnussen after struggling a barely sluggish pitstop on the Austrian GP they usually subsequently duked it out on observe.

However, given Ocon has a substantial checkered historical past of incidents together with his F1 team-mates – from his days racing Sergio Perez at Drive India, by means of to his clashes with Fernando Alonso after which Pierre Gasly at Alpine – questions have already been raised about what may occur in his new relationship with rookie Bearman.

When requested if he could be doing something completely different when it comes to establishing clear racing guidelines at Haas this yr or if he was selecting to see how issues develop, Komatsu, who pushed exhausting to safe Ocon’s companies in 2025, replied: “No – guidelines of engagement needs to be completely clear.

Esteban Ocon, Haas F1 Crew

Picture by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Photos

“From day one. So, that will probably be clarified earlier than the primary race.

“I do not anticipate any team-mate contacts, DNFs, due to that.

“Nevertheless it’s good, it’s a must to race exhausting. Take a look at final yr – Kevin is a tough racer after which Kevin and Nico, the closest we got here to a difficulty, which did not turn into a difficulty, was Austria, proper?

“However that is partly as a result of we operated in a not excellent method when it comes to pitstop timing. We did not assist ourselves.

“So, as a group, we should not be creating these messes. However, additionally, with the understanding of one another as team-mates, the foundations of engagement could be completely clear.”

Komatsu additionally mentioned he was not wanting again to the “utterly completely different period and dynamics and drivers” of the Mazepin-Schumacher Haas line-up in 2021 in terms of setting out how he needs his squad’s new drivers to function in 2025.

“No,” he mentioned. “You have a look at how we operated final yr after which how we will enhance as a group, what we did good final yr, what we might have improved final yr, after which take that studying for this yr.

Ayao Komatsu, Crew Principal, Haas F1 Crew, Oliver Bearman, Haas F1 Crew, Mark Slade, Race Engineer, Haas F1 Crew

Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos

“So, I do not look that far again to 2021. [And] with Esteban, with Ollie, these are two very, excellent drivers.

“They each obtained much more to show, yeah… Nevertheless it’s humorous about Ollie being a rookie, I do not deal with him as a rookie.

“He can drive loads, with these younger engineers as effectively, [they will] develop collectively.

“We do not deal with him as a rookie within the sense that we pay plenty of consideration to what he has to say, due to course he is obtained good expertise in Ferrari’s training [and] simulator.

“And he is been driving our automobile – VF-23 and VF-24. Each time he will get within the automobile, his suggestions’s been wonderful. The method has been wonderful, pace has been nice.

“You noticed in Baku and Interlagos [where Bearman raced in place of Magnussen last year], each qualifying classes he outqualified Nico who was our reference, proper? I feel we obtained an excellent mixture [with Ocon]. Actually wanting ahead to it.”